Monthly Archives: May 2013

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…”

25 Saturday May 2013

Posted by musingsonthevine in Wines

≈ 2 Comments

Cabernet Franc is a grape that doesn’t get much respect. I put various Cabernet Franc based wines in tastings from time to time and folks are underwhelmed. The wines usually represent solid producers in good to great vintages, but to no avail, people are not impressed.

In cool climates the grape often produces wines with strong under ripe characteristics: green, stemmy with bell pepper and green olive notes. High acid with a pronounced tartness, the wines take contemplation to see the merits within. In warmer climates the grape ripens more fully, but the wines still lack the jammy lushness of its progeny – Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Franc demands concentration and a willingness to look deeper inside the wine.

“Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. I don’t need to struggle with my wine to find the greatness within. I want something that is obviously and quickly pleasing to my palate. I don’t want to spend 20 minutes contemplating my wine trying to find that elusive image of Christ hidden in the window.” So say most folks.

As you might expect, I feel a tad differently. I will give more time to a wine that demands it, because I believe the rewards are worth it. Now that doesn’t mean that every tough, under ripe, mouth-puckering wine can be redeemed. Sometimes bad wine is just that: bad wine.

However, when a wine with provenance and potential emerges from the mist, I will happily spend the time required to allow the wine to seduce me. Such is the case with many of the wines from Lamé Delisle Boucard, a 5th generation, family run winery in Bourgueil, France. Bourgueil is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for wine in the Loire Valley, and produces primarily red wine from Cabernet Franc grapes. Lamé Delisle Boucard was founded in 1869 by Pierre Guyot. Pierre’s son Jules Lamé took advantage of the lessons learned during the phylloxera epidemic, planting some of the first fully-grafted vineyards in France. Through numerous wars and other hardships, the winery passed through the hands of successive generations, each one adding vineyard land and a reputation for quality wines. Today the great great grandchildren of the original founder manage and run the operation, infusing their wines with the passion of five generations of French vignerons. The winery is relatively small, with approximately 100 acres of vineyard parcels peppered within the commune of Bourgueil. The vineyards are each on choice parcels with a good variation of the region’s unique soil types. The soils are a mix of clay, silica and limestone, which is evident on the palate. The average age of the vines is 35 years, which contributes to the immense complexity of the wines.

lamedelisleboucard

I have been following Lamé Delisle Boucard since I stumbled across their magnificent 2005 Cuvée Prestige, a tremendously brooding Cabernet Franc that has fantastic aging potential and layer upon layer of complexity. I recently picked up two more wines – the 2009 Cuvée Prestige and the 2011 Cuvée Lucien Lamé. Both wines have great potential and demand time and concentration, which will be rewarded handsomely.

My tasting notes:

2009 Lamé Delisle Boucard Cuvée Prestige Bourgueil AOC $12.99

Ripe, cherry nose with floral and mineral hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and firm, dry tannin – good balance. Sour cherry on the palate with mint, fresh herb and chalk notes. Moderate length with a dark and brooding finish. Smooth. Drinking well and will improve with another 3 to 5 years in bottle and quite possibly beyond. Great value.

2011 Lamé Delisle Boucard Cuvée Lucien Lamé Bourgueil AOC $11.99

Ripe, jammy nose with bright fresh cherries, wild flowers and fresh mint hints. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and firm tannin – well balanced. Tart, sour cherry palate, structured with red currant, bramble and wet stone notes. Moderate length – smooth. Not as complex as the Cuvée Prestige, but very pretty. Drinking well and will improve for another 2 to 3 years in the bottle. Great value.

Both wines are great values, with enough structure to age for several years, further rewarding the person with patience.

By the way, I had their 2010 Rosé last year – in a word – stunning!

Cheers!

June 2013 Wine Tasting Event… Summer Sippers

24 Friday May 2013

Posted by musingsonthevine in Wine Events

≈ Leave a comment

AskPaul

Seats are still available!

June 15 – Summer Sippers @ 3:00pm

Cost: $50 per person

Location: Wrentham, Massachusetts

Summer is a time for easy drinking, high-value wines that require very little thought or demand even less contemplation. The wines of summer should be light and refreshing, pairing well with the usually light repasts or foods from the grill. At this event we will examine several wines, white, rose and red that are light, refreshing and represent good value along with a selection of artisanal cheeses and breads.

Cheers!

La Contessa

20 Monday May 2013

Posted by musingsonthevine in Cocktails

≈ 2 Comments

I love The Negroni (https://blog.musingsonthevine.com/2011/10/02/the-negroni/) – As I wrote, it is perhaps one of a few perfect cocktails… In my humble opinion. So how does one improve upon such a delicious libation? Think white… or golden-hued, at least.

suze_vert

I recently found Suze, Saveur d’autrefois, a French, gentian-based aperitif that reminds me of a more perfumed version of Campari. As I sipped lazily on this very unique treat, I was inspired. Why not modify a few ingredients and recast The Negroni as a more feminine protagonist? So is born, La Contessa. Refreshing and with floral and honey notes, La Contessa enlivens the palate as a classic cocktail should…

Ladies and Gentlemen, La Contessa:

1-1/2 oz. London Dry Gin

1-1/2 oz. Suze

1-1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc

Shake the ingredients with crushed ice, vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Enjoy!

Napa versus Bordeaux – Part V – The saga continues…

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by musingsonthevine in Wine Events

≈ Leave a comment

In November I posted the accumulated results of the previous four Napa versus Bordeaux Shootouts: https://blog.musingsonthevine.com/2011/11/27/napa-versus-bordeaux-where-do-we-stand/

As promised, we just conducted match-up number five and have the following to report.

The fifth installment took place on May 11, 2013, matching a comparable set of six wines. The results were as follows:

By Wine

Wine

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

(3 pts)

(2 pts)

(1 pt)

1997 Cuvaison Merlot

3

1

4

15 pts

1997 Chimney Rock Stags Leap

3

5

1

20 pts

1997 Spottswoode

2

2

5

15 pts

1989 Gloria

0

1

2

4 pts

1989 Chasse-Spleen

0

1

0

2 pts

1988 Lafite Rothschild

4

2

0

16 pts

By Region

Napa Valley

50 pts

Bordeaux

22 pts

California clearly clobbered France! A somewhat unexpected result, although the panel was unanimous in stating that this meeting was the best/hardest match-up yet. Each of the panelists had an admittedly difficult time picking their top three favorites, with many vacillating during the tasting.

So after five installments, the results stack up as follows:

France’s lead is narrowed to 3 – 2 in overall wins. Point-wise the French have 149 points to Napa’s 140 points, again holding a narrow lead.

One of our panelists did point out that the Lafite did have the most first place votes of any wine, suggesting that the wine with the most first place votes could be construed the winner and by association, the country of origin of said wine could be called the winner. As tempting as I was to let France rule the day as a result of the fine showing of the Lafite, I allowed a more balanced approach to sort out the results. In the end, clearly California outpaced France.

A few observations are in order… The Bordeaux wines were appreciably older than their Californian counterparts. This was by design and what the group found was that the French wines were all nicely mature with layers of complexity, integrated tannins and impressive structure for wines approaching the quarter century mark. None were tired or showing their age. Truly a testament to a great wine in a great vintage. The Californian wines were also showing very well, but it was clear that with the exception of the Chimney Rock, the 1997 wines were on a downward slide. After spending an hour or so in the glass, the French wines were still vibrant, whereas the Californian wines were muddled and tired. This had been my assumption going in, hence the match-up.

Where does it go from here? Well if history repeats itself, I imagine a sixth match-up in 2015, either in April, or October…

Should be fun, as usual!

Arnaud’s Special Cocktail

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by musingsonthevine in Cocktails

≈ Leave a comment

One of my favorite cocktail books is Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, it is truly an epic tome filled with some of the best classic cocktails.

I love Scotch… and sometimes I like to have more fun than just pour it neat with a few splashes of spring water… I also like rarities… Scotch cocktails, as Mr. Haigh points out, are indeed rare.

According to Mr. Haigh, Arnaud’s Special Cocktail “was the signature cocktail of the legendary Arnaud’s Restaurant in New Orleans” during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Another famous classic to come from Arnaud’s was the French 75, which is currently the reigning signature drink.

Arnauds

However, a disclaimer is in order… IF YOU DO NOT LIKE SCOTCH, THEN YOU WILL NOT LIKE THIS COCKTAIL… Unlike other Scotch-based cocktails, where the mixing ingredients serve to temper the smoky, peaty, distinctive flavor of the Scotch, In Arnaud’s Special Cocktail, neither the Dubonnet, nor the bitters does anything to impede the true nature of the spirit. Fine by me…

So, for those who are still game, I present Arnaud’s Special Cocktail:

2 oz. Scotch (I chose Johnny Walker Red on Haigh’s recommendation)

1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge

3 dashes Orange Bitters (I chose Regan’s Orange Bitters)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Cheers!

 

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • August 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011

Categories

  • Cocktails
  • General
  • Restaurants
  • Spirits
  • Uncategorized
  • Wine Events
  • Wines

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • blog.musingsonthevine.com
    • Join 35 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • blog.musingsonthevine.com
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...